Soft Pretzel Dogs

Have you ever wanted to slow down and simplify? I don’t know why but I’ve really been feeling the urge to purge recently. I’m surrounded by too many things that occupy my space. These things also take up space in my thoughts. Here’s how it all goes down in my brain while I’m lying awake at night:

Did I take the last load of laundry out of the dryer tonight?
I forgot to get laundry detergent at Target yesterday.
I spent way too much at Target yesterday.
Why did I go in there in the first place?
Oh yeah for diapers and wipes.
Kids are expensive. I love our children.
My foot still hurts from stepping on that Hot Wheels car today.
Four Year Old Foodie has too many cars.
His brother seems to be more into balls than cars.
Should I get rid of that mechanic’s garage toy?
Nobody plays with it anymore.
I should have a garage sale.
I could get rid of a lot of old baby clothes.
Baby clothes. I left them in the dryer. Ugh.
Does my husband have clean socks for tomorrow?
What will I make for dinner tomorrow?
Hot dogs. Soft pretzel hot dogs!
I hope I remember this in the morning.
My mind is too cluttered.
I like soft pretzels.
My space is too cluttered.
I need to have a garage sale.
I’ll sell that toy mechanic’s garage.

And I did! Ahh it feels good to simplify (and it helps to make a few dollars on the side!). It is nice to simplify dinners in the summer too and that’s what this recipe is about. The concept is simple. The dough is simple. The dishes were simple. And we pretty much cleared out every last bite so the clean up was simple!

You could make these into pretzels instead of pretzel dogs. For me that was NOT simple. I will not be applying for a job at the mall anytime soon I guess. I made 6 pretzel dogs and turned the rest into bite-sized pieces. I can handle that!

Directions:

In the bowl of your mixer (fitted with dough hook) dissolve yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Mix in flour until you can turn your dough on a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl. Cover, and let rise for one hour. ** This step can be done with a wooden spoon instead of a mixer. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead – 8-10 minutes.**

After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Roll each piece into a 2-3 foot rope.

In a large saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a simmer over medium heat.

Roll your dough around the hot dogs and dip into the baking soda solution for about 20-30 seconds. Place on parchment covered (or greased) baking sheets, and let rise 15-20 minutes.

You could certainly roll your pretzel dough into any shape at this point.

Notes:

You could make these into pretzels instead of pretzel dogs. For me that was NOT simple. I will not be applying for a job at the mall anytime soon I guess. I made 6 pretzel dogs and turned the rest into bite-sized pieces. I can handle that!

I am so sad that Blogger ate up all of your comments. One day they just disappeared. Sigh. But thanks again – I just don’t want you all to think I’ve been deleting your comments! I appreciate you taking the time to give me your feedback as always!

101 Responses to “Soft Pretzel Dogs”

Ohhh this is good, really good!!! I absolutely love your mouthwatering photos!!
I think that both of us having same thoughts..I can totally not only relate but agree on every possible thing that you wrote!!! Ahh that is our life, mother's life!:))

OMG…I love hot dogs wrapped in either Asian bun dough or pretzel dough. Yours look so good that I may have to go out and get some tomorrow…with lots of dipping mustard! and honey mustard You see, if I make them, I'll eat them all :>/

That's exactly what happens to me when my head hits the pillow at night, except my kids are all grown up and I don't worry about diapers or hot wheels anymore. (Actually it was the legos that got me all the time.) These pretzel dogs look like they'd be great for a picnic or potluck- seriously yummy! 🙂

how cute are these? i love the itty bitty bites… i could probably eat that whole plate in one sitting. =P

i totally know what you mean by wanting to purge and keeping things cluttered free… having too much stuff around just gets me so frustrated sometimes. and yet i go out and buy more props for the blog. sigh…

All that AND you post on a sunday? food bloggers are crazy! 🙂 But hey, I noticed you managed to take Ah-maze-ing pictures of a meal and not a dessert….were your kids going crazy having to wait or did you find a way to freeze time to get the shot?

My foot still hurts from stepping on a strand of beads my little girl left lying on the floor. And then I stepped on her Hot Wheels car with my other foot. Ouch! The pretzel dogs look great. Love the color on them! Thanks for sharing 🙂

My kids would go bonkers over these. This recipe is a keeper. And my mind works much like yours, frantically reviewing the day behind me and gearing up for the day ahead. Life as an adult with small children…it's never simple!

Oh boy does that sound familiar! My brain jumps from one thing to another at a million miles an hour! My husband says he has a hard time keeping up with my train of thought because I'm trying to say too many things at once, lol.

Is that spicey mustard? Please tell me it's spicey mustard because that's perfect. I saw something similar on Amanda's site a while back and bookmarked it to try sometime but it may have to wait until the girls don't get their dogs cut up anymore. It definitely sounds fun though even if part of the dough was turned into bites… that's totally okay in my book. Ahhh and you're another one who has brain issues – it won't shut off and you think about all of the bizarre things you shouldn't be thinking of when you should really be sleeping. I've told my brain 'shut up!' 'stop!' etc lol not verbally – just in my head. Fun post 🙂

Yep – Guldens spicy mustard!! Mmm! We are never without it in our home! And about the kids and hot dogs- both of my boys devoured them (even 1 year old). I still cut it up of course. I use kitchen shears to cut it all up into pieces…much easier than a knife.

Katrina, purging is good – it also helps to unclutter the mind which in turn helps us to be better bloggers! ;-)Homemade pretzels are absolutely delicious and a soft pretzel dog would be perfect for my lunch right now!
Thanks for sharing.

I have tried to make pretzels exactly ONCE. These look great and a great idea for summer easy meals. But, these are great pretzel rolls that I found at http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/10/20/pretzel-ro…. They are awesome by themselves or smeared with homemade mustard.

A mom's mind is always so busy…it's in constant motion…love that you were able to throw a little of it here on the blog to show us that we are not alone in that endless stream of thoughts!! : ) The pretzel dogs are great…love how they browned up so nicely. I am going to give these a try, my son will love me for it! I used to have a butter roll recipe that I'd make the dough for then wrap hot dogs…always reminded me of when my mom would wrap hot dogs in crescent roll dough. The pretzel thing though…I think that's an even better way to go…thanks fo sharing it with us!! : )

Fabulous! These are so perfect for outdoor grilling appetizers. Well done! And glad the garage sale was a success! You and I share a brain because I just thought this morning 'I MUST clean out this house!' Buzzed 🙂

Oh dear! I can imagine.. it used to happen with me when i was crazy busy with work .. now I am more relaxed and no babies yet 😛 I love kid ..i do.
These are one of my all time fav bite and every time we go for shopping I have to pick one in the mall ..

Great post! My little ones always skip the bun for hotdogs (why? who knows..lol) , but I bet I could totally do the pretzels..they'd love that! Wonderful family friendly food. Wonderful as always, Katrina!

MUST. MAKE. THESE. The BF wont eat a hot dog but from time to time – oh yeah, Ill indulge. These look awesome. I have been itching to make homemade pretzels for a while – but stick a hot dog in there and I really have to make these soon.

Yum! We make something similar in Italy and I have always loved them! I have the same problem: "cluttered mind" perfectly describes my state! I keep forgetting things as I have too many things to do! I usually write things down on pieces of paper… but that adds to the mess (you know how it is… toddlers' mess!!!) and they often get lost or drawn on! I am hopeless! hahaha

Love this. Simple is almost always better. Don’t know why we gotta take a simple recipe or concept and totally complicate it and make it harder on ourselves (unless of course we have the time, energy or money to do all that). I usually have none of the above..lol. Gorgeous recipe and your pictures are making me salivate!

oh boy!! saw your tweet and immediate came here .. this is sad. Why does Blogger keep doing this ?? eating away stuff all the time. 60 to 2 comment is sad 🙁 You know sweetie I like all your recipes and i loved this one too. I hope the comments come back!http://www.sunshineandsmile.com

These look amazingly delicious!!! I must have one soon! I want some of those pretzel bites too…but with nacho cheese! Yum! I’m glad you were able to clear out some of the stress and make a couple extra bucks!

I just made these for dinner tonight, and shall I say… FANTASTIC!! I made them with hot dogs for the kids, and beer brats for me and the hubby. In the brats ones, I also wrapped some caramelized onions. Because of the onions, I couldn’t twist-wrap the dough, so instead I gently rolled out thick rectangles big enough to fit around the sausage and onions. Then I just pinched the dough closed with a seam across the top. I had enough dough to wrap 4 brats this way as well as 4 hot dogs. My family loved them and are asking when I’m going to make them again!